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Post by mpn1jco on Nov 26, 2016 19:44:12 GMT
Telephone went to 13, Eaten Alive #10, and Dirty Looks #12 on the R&B Singles. I've never heard Ross sing, so I don't know what she is capable of. Berry Gordy thought whatever is that she does would sell, and be non-threatening to White audiences.
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Post by hector on Nov 26, 2016 19:58:45 GMT
Telephone went to 13, Eaten Alive #10, and Dirty Looks #12 on the R&B Singles. I've never heard Ross sing, so I don't know what she is capable of. Berry Gordy thought whatever is that she does would sell, and be non-threatening to White audiences. I always thought too much was made out of what was or was not threatening to White people. I mean didn't white people also loved Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner? They Sounded nothing like Diana Ross. Heck Lulu sounded "blacker" than Ross!
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Post by vgalindo on Nov 26, 2016 22:10:38 GMT
Telephone went to 13, Eaten Alive #10, and Dirty Looks #12 on the R&B Singles. I've never heard Ross sing, so I don't know what she is capable of. Berry Gordy thought whatever is that she does would sell, and be non-threatening to White audiences. Well regardless of the fact that she was sleeping with the boss, Diana clearly had something going for her and Berry Gordy saw this. She was quite young when she started out at Motown though and wanted to be a star, so I really don't blame her for some of the things she did while at Motown. I don't get why some people say Diana can't sing though. Diana may not have the strongest voice, but still I think she can sing. She is a stylized singer. Also, she had tons of charisma and stage presence and although I think Berry Gordy could have handled certain things differently, I believe he made the right choice in making Diana the lead singer of the group. She just had that "it" quality that can't be denied. She was clearly the star of the group and her high, nasal voice was perfect for most of the Supremes songs. They were all great together though and complimented eachother well. The original lineup will always be my fave
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Post by mpn1jco on Nov 26, 2016 23:30:36 GMT
Telephone went to 13, Eaten Alive #10, and Dirty Looks #12 on the R&B Singles. I've never heard Ross sing, so I don't know what she is capable of. Berry Gordy thought whatever is that she does would sell, and be non-threatening to White audiences. I always thought too much was made out of what was or was not threatening to White people. I mean didn't white people also loved Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner? They Sounded nothing like Diana Ross. Heck Lulu sounded "blacker" than Ross! There are many anecdotes of Motown's brass responding to Ross' singing.
"You sing through your nose" Berry Gordy
"She can't sing but she has a sound." Smokey Robinson
When Where Did Our Love Go hit number one, the Motown machine always milked the formula until it was dead. Ashford and Simpson complained how Berry Gordy ordered them to write sound-alikes of Ain't No Mountain High Enough after it went to number on. Surrender and Remember Me followed. Another remake of a Motown song, Reach Out was thrown in for good measure.
Lena Horne is an example of a singer who knew she had to learn how to sing to survive in the industry after the honey was gone from the honeycomb. There is a dramatic change in her voice in the 40s into the 50s.
Ross is pleasant enough on records, but at this point Ross should be putting life experience into her voice. Instead, she sounds worse and more uninvolved than in her prime. Dionne Warwick never took voice lessons and didn't need them. I am certain in Ross was determined to sing now, Ross could attract a new audience.
"Damn. that skinny stuck up bitch who slept her way to the top can actually SING!" is what people need to be saying about her right now,
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Post by hector on Nov 27, 2016 1:13:58 GMT
Telephone went to 13, Eaten Alive #10, and Dirty Looks #12 on the R&B Singles. I've never heard Ross sing, so I don't know what she is capable of. Berry Gordy thought whatever is that she does would sell, and be non-threatening to White audiences. Well regardless of the fact that she was sleeping with the boss, Diana clearly had something going for her and Berry Gordy saw this. She was quite young when she started out at Motown though and wanted to be a star, so I really don't blame her for some of the things she did while at Motown. I don't get why some people say Diana can't sing though. Diana may not have the strongest voice, but still I think she can sing. She is a stylized singer. Also, she had tons of charisma and stage presence and although I think Berry Gordy could have handled certain things differently, I believe he made the right choice in making Diana the lead singer of the group. She just had that "it" quality that can't be denied. She was clearly the star of the group and her high, nasal voice was perfect for most of the Supremes songs. They were all great together though and complimented eachother well. The original lineup will always be my fave Diana Ross ain't got nuthin'! But a whore-pimp mentality! She was one of the least talented women at Motown. She got Berry Gordy's penis early on and never let it go! That's what she got!
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Post by hector on Nov 27, 2016 1:16:46 GMT
I always thought too much was made out of what was or was not threatening to White people. I mean didn't white people also loved Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner? They Sounded nothing like Diana Ross. Heck Lulu sounded "blacker" than Ross! There are many anecdotes of Motown's brass responding to Ross' singing.
"You sing through your nose" Berry Gordy
"She can't sing but she has a sound." Smokey Robinson
When Where Did Our Love Go hit number one, the Motown machine always milked the formula until it was dead. Ashford and Simpson complained how Berry Gordy ordered them to write sound-alikes of Ain't No Mountain High Enough after it went to number on. Surrender and Remember Me followed. Another remake of a Motown song, Reach Out was thrown in for good measure.
Lena Horne is an example of a singer who knew she had to learn how to sing to survive in the industry after the honey was gone from the honeycomb. There is a dramatic change in her voice in the 40s into the 50s.
Ross is pleasant enough on records, but at this point Ross should be putting life experience into her voice. Instead, she sounds worse and more uninvolved than in her prime. Dionne Warwick never took voice lessons and didn't need them. I am certain in Ross was determined to sing now, Ross could attract a new audience.
"Damn. that skinny stuck up bitch who slept her way to the top can actually SING!" is what people need to be saying about her right now,
Diana Ross was not a singer....she was a sound coming out of an empty head! Berry Gordy had to put everything there to get the output he desired.
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Post by mpn1jco on Nov 28, 2016 12:54:46 GMT
I listened to I Love You the other day. A very mediocre album. A very cheap sounding album. Ross is a niche artist at this point. What she is putting out there is only going to appeal to a very limited audience. Ross needs to stop singing and do reinvent herself as something else.
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Post by hector on Nov 28, 2016 15:57:45 GMT
I listened to I Love You the other day. A very mediocre album. A very cheap sounding album. Ross is a niche artist at this. What she is putting out there is only going to appeal to a very limited audience. Ross needs to stop singing and do reinvent herself as something else. That was 10 years ago! Do you actually believe that she has gotten better now?
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Post by mpn1jco on Nov 28, 2016 18:25:22 GMT
I listened to I Love You the other day. A very mediocre album. A very cheap sounding album. Ross is a niche artist at this. What she is putting out there is only going to appeal to a very limited audience. Ross needs to stop singing and do reinvent herself as something else. That was 10 years ago! Do you actually believe that she has gotten better now? No.
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Post by hector on Nov 28, 2016 19:16:47 GMT
That was 10 years ago! Do you actually believe that she has gotten better now? No. My point exactly! I always believed that had she been a nicer person that people would be willing to give her a chance. She's never once apologized for anything she's done to people, most of all Florence Ballard!
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Post by Trouble In Mind on Nov 29, 2016 12:37:59 GMT
SUSAYE GREEN
The last to join, Susaye Greene, like Lynda Laurence, was with Wonderlove when she was approached about becoming a Supreme.
And while Stevie Wonder, who was working on his Songs In The Key Of Life LP at the time, gave his blessing to Laurence when she changed allegiances, Green’s imminent departure was greeted with less enthusiasm.
“Well, Stevie was very upset with me about leaving the group, because I had carte blanche, so to speak,” explains Greene. “I selected the material that I sang. I performed what I wanted to on his show. I had solo spots in his show, and … it was a wonderful musical growth situation.”
But being in Wonderlove wasn’t the same as being one of The Supremes. And like Scherrie Payne, who would partner with Greene to record the underrated LP Partners after The Supremes were permanently put on ice in 1977, Greene had a little help from her mom.
Her mother was on the board of the Beverly Hills branch of the NAACP with Bob Jones, the head of publicity at Motown. Jones revealed to Greene’s mother that Birdsong was to leave the group and wanted to know if Susaye wanted to replace her.
When Greene was asked, “I said, ‘Well, it sounds intriguing. That’s something I’ve never done (laughs),’” says Greene.
At the time, The Supremes were out on the road. Greene met with Mary Wilson’s husband and manager, Pedro Ferrer, and they talked. Ferrer said they wanted someone who could sing lead. “He wanted everyone [in The Supremes] to be able to sing lead. And they were trying to regain — how shall we put it — within [Motown] a higher attention.”
Ferrer had done his homework on Greene, whose resumé was extensive. In addition to Wonderlove, Greene was a Raelette, the girl group that performed backing vocals for Ray Charles. In fact, Greene first encountered Mary Wilson and The Supremes while with The Raelettes.
“We had met when I was with Ray at the Carter Barron (Amphitheatre) in Washington, D.C.,” says Greene. “I believe Jean Terrell had been in the group a very short time, and they opened for Ray Charles. So all of us, the Raelettes, were stuck to the side of the stage trying to see what was going on. This was The Supremes after all … they had all the wigs and the hair, the full regalia, the sparkles and delights — the fantasy of The Supremes — and they were marvelous.”
Later, backstage, Greene remembers “ … talking with Ray and we were in there laughing and chuckling,’ when Wilson and Charles were sorting out who would get to use a reception area in Charles’ dressing room.
“When I went to meet her for The Supremes, she said (Greene’s voice excited), ‘Oh, you’re that little girl (laughs) who was there with Ray,’” relates Greene.
It could have been an awkward introduction, but Payne and Wilson welcomed her with open arms. “Oh, I’m sure there were some misgivings,” says Greene. “I’m sure they were disappointed that Cindy was leaving, but they showed none of that to me, because they are such lovely, gracious, professional ladies.”
As an aside, Greene was with Wilson in 1976 when she received the news that former Supreme Florence Ballard, her tragic story recounted many times over, had died.
“Oh, it was just heartbreaking,” says Greene. “Mary is a very emotional lady, very tender. And I could see she was just brokenhearted, because it represented the end of her dream in a way.”
In a sense, Greene’s arrival signaled a new beginning for The Supremes. Ferrer knew Greene had talent beyond her singing. After all, she had written the song “Free” that Deniece Williams took straight up to #1 in the U.K., and she had — and still does — written with Stevie Wonder (later, she would compose “I Can’t Help It” for Michael Jackson, a song that wound up on Off The Wall).
So, in negotiating Greene’s membership in The Supremes, promises were made. “I was told I would be able to write and possibly produce things for the group,” says Greene.
There were other benefits. Greene recalls that Wilson would often pick her up in a long, white Mercedes limousine, with black windows, that was once owned by George Harrison, and they would go shopping to get Greene ready to go on the road.
“We had a lot of appointments, trying on clothes, you know, a lot of beaded gowns … oh, what a fantasy for a lady that is (laughs),” says Greene.
A size 3 at the time “ … or something ridiculous (laughs),” adds Greene, “I was just a slip of a girl.” So she wore Diana’s gowns. “And this gown, I swear to you, weighed 35 pounds, and the bottom was weighted, so that once you put it on and it would fit, it kind of had a life of its own.”
As Greene says, it was ideal for doing “the dip-and-swoop, which was a Supremes thing.” And she would first do “Supremes things” as part of the group on an episode of the TV show “Soul Train.”
“I remember not knowing any of the choreography,” says Greene. “And that made me feel a bit insecure, so you just kind of keep smiling and (laughs) moving those arms around and singing those songs, singing the words.”
Unfortunately, Greene, blessed with a voice that could range over multiple octaves, didn’t get to fully display all of her prodigious talent with The Supremes. She did appear, however, on the last two Supremes albums, including 1976’s High Energy. Greene remembers the recording of that LP being a “nerve-wracking experience, because it was all new to me, that particular style of recording. First of all, we did very little recording at the same time. We did a whole lot of piece work where the tracks were done. You weren’t involved in that part and that was killing me.”
She compliments the Holland brothers for pulling together a cohesive album, but for Greene, who had experience producing and was able to notice things in the studio that could be improved upon, recording High Energy was a frustrating experience, especially in light of the latitude she was given while working with Stevie Wonder.
“Basically, you show up, look cute and hit the spot,” says Greene.
To her dissatisfaction, Greene was never allowed to write or produce for The Supremes. Still, she harbors no bitterness about her days with The Supremes.
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Post by drummer on Nov 29, 2016 19:15:37 GMT
That was 10 years ago! Do you actually believe that she has gotten better now? No. Sounds weak and lazy with no emotion.
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Post by mpn1jco on Nov 30, 2016 0:15:59 GMT
I always get upset when you see photos of the 70's Supremes recycling gowns from the 60's Supremes...you just KNOW they have nothing behind them in terms of the label.
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Post by Bernadine on Nov 30, 2016 0:34:08 GMT
I always get upset when you see photos of the 70's Supremes recycling gowns from the 60's Supremes...you just KNOW they have nothing behind them in terms of the label. The Supremes would've died a much sooner death, if Mary hadn't fought hard, for years, to keep them alive. She and Flo' formed the group, as kids and no matter how many members had come and gone, it was still her dream. She pressed-on, where most artists would've thrown in the towel. Foregoing a solo career that could've happened a lot sooner than it did
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Post by Bernadine on Nov 30, 2016 0:38:12 GMT
Sounds weak and lazy with no emotion. Singer Diana Ross and Jersey Boys cast member Donnie Kehr pose for a photo backstage of Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theater October 04, 2006 in New York City. 10 years ago. Wow, she has aged in 10 years!
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